Can-opener



D. K. KIRKLAND.

CAN OPENER.

APPLICATION man NOV. 1,1918.

1,367,484, Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

amen W01 7, attorney f DAVID K. KIRKLAIQ'ID O13 ATHENS, TEXAS.

CAN-OPENER.

memos.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

Application filed November 1, 1918. Serial No. 280,676.

To all a 710m it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID K. KIRKLAND, citizen or the United States. residing at Athens in the county of Henderson and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Openers, 01 which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to can openers and has for its object to provide a comparatively simple and inexpensive device of this character designed to take the place of the socallcd self-opening cans or key openers and by means oi which cans or tins of dillerent sizes may be conveniently and expeditiously opened to permitthe removal of the contents thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a can opener capable of being conveniently carried on a lroy ring or attached to a tin or other container and sold with the tin as a part thereof the construction of the opener being such that it may be used repeatedly and employed with equally good results for opening either the side or op of a can. 7

The invention further contemplates the provision of a can opener the of which are ofiset both laterally in two planes and transversely or edgewise with respect to each other so as to permit the cutting edge to engage and cut the can. near the rim thereof.

The invention further aims to provide a. can opener including a body portion corrugated longitudinally to strena'then the some and provided at one end with a con cavo-convex enlargement constituting a spoon by means of which the contents of a tin or can may be conveniently removed from time to time as desired said enlargemerit also forming a piece or handle to facilitate holding the tool in the act of opening a can A still further object of the invention is generally to improve this class of devices so as to increase their utility, durability and efiiciency.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of the c an opener constructed in accordance with the present invention, showing the manner of using" the same;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4-4: of Fig. 2.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indie :ated in all the views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

The improved can opener forming the subject matter oi": the present invention is preferably stamped or otherwise formed from a single sheet of metal and comprises body 5 whose working end is forked or bifurcated to produce a recess 6 defining spaced jaws 7 and 8 one of which is longer than the other and constitutes a piercing member and the other the cuttingelement of the tool. The inner edge of the short jaw 8 is sharpened at 9 to form a cutting edge, while the outer edgeoit the long jaw 7 is sharpened throughout its entire length to form. a knife edge 10 termiiiating in .a piercing point 11. Excepting where they are ground away to produce the cutting edges, both jaws are entirely flat and the edges not sharpened are preferably left quite dull. The body of the tool is preferably crimpcd or corrugated lonsritudi nally as indicated at 12 so as to reinforce and strengthen the same and also to cause the jaws '2' and 8 to be offset with respect to each other into two parallel planes as indicated by he dotted lines in Fig. 3, and thus facilitate cutting the top or a can close to the rim thereof, The jaws are also Qotlset edgewise from each other by the width of the recess 6, but while being offset in two directions as described, they are 'substai'itially parallel in length. The body portion 5- is provided with a substantially circular enlargement 18 pressed or stamped into concavo-convex form so as to constitute in eiiect a spoon by means of which the contents of the tin or can may be conveniently removed from time time as required. The enlargement 13 not only forms a spoon to permit of convenient removal of the contents of the can but also forms a finger piece or handle by means of which the tool may be conveniently grasped when in the act of opening a tin, as best shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The device is preferably made relatively small so that the same may be positioned on the top or bottom of a can or other container and sold with the can as a part thereof, thereby tak-v nee cans or key openers now in general use. The body portion 5 is preferably provided at a point between the recess 6 and spoon 13 with a circular opening i l by means of which the can opener may be conveniently suspended from key ring or the like, if desired. The opposite longitudinal edges of the body portion 5 are preferably provided with notches or recesses 15 disposed immediately at the rear of the jaws 7 and 8, said notches or recesses providing a clearance and permitting the jaws to coact with out interference. The jaws 7 and'8 are also preferably slightly inclined to tie longi' tudinal plane of the body portion 5, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, so as to. produce a shear cut.

in operation the spoon or handle 13 is grasped between the thumb and forefinger and the piercing point 11 driven into the top of the can and the handle pressed downwardly so as to cause the cutting edge 10 of the jaw l to form an incision in said top. The 'Z is then withdrawn from the incision and the tool reverseo; next the pointed terminal of the jaw 8 is passed into the incision, when by oscillating the tool and sin'iulta-neously moving it forward with a step by step motion the cutting edge 9 of the jaw 8 will readily cut or sever the top of the can so as to permit t 1e removal thereof. Meanwhile the dull edge of the other jaw 7 acts as a fulcrum about which the tool is rocked ach time the handle is raised. in using the can opener the cutting jaws are preferably supported at a slight angle or inclinawith respect to the side of the can and owing to the oii'set formation. of the aws the inner edge of the upper jaw will travel along the rim of the can while the cutting edge 9 of the lower jaw will. cut through the top there of along a line relatively close to the rim. The tool may also be used for cutting the side of a can by inserting the piercing point 11 therein to form an incision and subse quently reversing the tool and operating the latter in the manner heretofore set forth.

The jaws 7 and 8 may be used as a fork while the cutting edge 10 of the jaw 7 may be used as a knife. if desired, the pointed ends of the jaws 7 and 8 may be inserted in a bar or strip of wood so as to provide an extended handle for the spoon l3.

Inasmuch as the Walls of the spoon are smooth and unobstructed and one face theremesa of concave, said concave face forms a convenient seat for the reception of the thumb of the user so as to permit the tool to be conveniently grasped during the opening operation.

'Ifhe device is extremely simple in construction and relatively small so as to 00- cupy very little space either in the pocket of the user or on the can to which it may be applied, and being tamped or otherwise formeo of sheet metal may be manufactured at relatively small cost. lt will of course be understood that the can openers may be made in different sizes and shapes and nickel-plated or otherwise coated to give them a neat and attractive appearance.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. can opener formed from a single blank of metal having one end portion bifurcated to provide a pair of spaced jaws ar ranged in edge to edge relation, one of said jaws having its inner edge sharpened for forming a cutting blade, the other jaw being extended beyond said blade for forming a fulcrum and having; its outer edge sharpened for forming a penetrating element, said blank of metal being provided with a longritudinal reinforcing corrugation offsetting the cutting blade and inclining the same transversely.

2. 1h can opener formed from a single blank of metal having one end portion bifurcated to provide a pair of spaced jaws arranged in edge to edge relation, one of said jaws having its inner edge sharpened for forming a cutting blade and the other forming a fulcrum, said blank of metal being provided with a longitudinal reinforcing corrugation offsetting the aws with respect to each other.

3. A can opener formed from a single blank of metal having one end portion bifurcated to provide a cutting blade and a fulcrum, said blank of metal being provided intermediate its edges with a longitudinal corrugation offsetting said blade with re spect to the body and inclining the same transversely for producing a shear cut, the rear portion of said body being formed with a handle.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signa ture.

DAVID it. KIRKLAND [Ls] 

